Choosing a Home Defense Weapon

Talonsbane

Space Marshal
Donor
Jul 29, 2017
5,308
18,359
3,025
RSI Handle
Talonsbane
I have an axe.
And a machete.
And an anti-tank knife.
Couple hockey sticks.

But the baddies usually never get past the beer fridge, so I don't have to wrangle them far.
In this case, I'd place a fridge just inside where they would most likely break in & have it sparsely filled with the worst tasting / cheap beer that you can find. So when they start robbing you by drinking that beer, they'll leave regretting the decision to violate your home.
 

Bruttle

Space Marshal
Donor
Aug 20, 2016
655
2,498
2,600
RSI Handle
Bruttle
FUN though this might be.. you'd need to move out afterward. Ever been hit by the stuff? It's bloody awful to clean up...
When I was a prison guard, one of the more excitable guards emptied a canister through the cuff port of a cell in the PC wing (think solitary confinement). ...the whole canister. ...and it was one of the big ones (think small fire extinguisher). Needless to say, the inmate decided to comply afterwards.

Hooooooowever, the stuff got into the ventilation system. It was then evenly distributed across the entire facility, even the mess hall. So for an entire day most of the guards had to mask up with gas masks. The inmates weren't so lucky though. There was coughing, wheezing, sneezing, and snot-cicles for everyone. God they were pissed. I tell you what though, if anyone even looked at a can of OC for the next month, the inmates were falling all over themselves to comply.


Edit: and yes. We had to go through "training" for it. It was very similar to this video, including the requirement that the spray gets directly in your eyes. It was amazing.

 
Last edited:

Jolly_Green_Giant

Space Marshal
Donor
Jun 25, 2016
1,309
4,602
2,650
RSI Handle
Jolly_Green_Giant
When someone is illegally in your home, the time for niceties is long over.
I have a box. This is my box, not your box. You walk inside my box uninvited and I cant tell within a second that you might not be hostile, you have just made the decision to commit suicide and its unfortunate that you decided to have me be the one to put you down.

As I stated earlier, my cousin went to prison for going on a coked up home invasion spree. If theyre on drugs, you're not dealing with a normal person. You could shoot them and them not go down, or mace them and they somehow manage to overcome it. The whole reason we have castle laws and the like is not only to protect people who's lives are in danger, but to also act as a deterrent. If it's common knowledge that most people have a gun, and they have every right to use them on you in certain circumstances, you really might think twice about breaking into their house. If you don't then you're either really stupid, or on drugs. People are insane when they are on drugs. I don't have bars on the house just for the hell of it.

Edit: I'll just add, one night while working in the ER we had a patient come in who had just slaughtered a family high on a coke binge and whatever else was in his system. When I say slaughtered, I mean slaughtered, and it was completely random. If you knew how horrible things can get and how quick it could happen it might change your views on these things. You can have a bunch of yeah buts and how things SHOULD be, but until things change, this is what you're dealing with.
 

Han Burgundy

Space Marshal
Jan 15, 2016
2,105
9,295
2,900
RSI Handle
Han-Burgundy
When someone is illegally in your home, the time for niceties is long over.
You see, if I come out of the gate with my 12 gauge roaring, then I miss out on my opportunity to practice my waterboarding and Pipecutter-to-the-knee techniques. Sometimes it can be funner to play with your food a bit, and the Bear Spray will definitely make it a spicy affair

I promise I'm not a serial killer...yet.
 

Blind Owl

Hallucinogenic Owl
Donor
Nov 27, 2015
20,862
73,607
3,160
RSI Handle
BlindOwl
In this case, I'd place a fridge just inside where they would most likely break in & have it sparsely filled with the worst tasting / cheap beer that you can find. So when they start robbing you by drinking that beer, they'll leave regretting the decision to violate your home.
True Canadian anti-theft mechanism. Also, a note saying "sorry for the bad beer . . .and the axe to the neck, knee, chest, and head."
 

vahadar

Grand Admiral
Donor
Mar 4, 2020
2,787
9,071
1,250
RSI Handle
vahadar
No offense meant (don't want to debate) but I am always amazed at why people would need guns at home. I have to specify I live in Europe.

I have a lunatic cat and a screaming kid, can I call that weapons against intruders ;)

Besides BB guns I have never touched a gun in my life, nor did I saw one around me.
 
Last edited:

Han Burgundy

Space Marshal
Jan 15, 2016
2,105
9,295
2,900
RSI Handle
Han-Burgundy
No offense meant (don't want to debate) but I am always amazed at why people would need guns at home. I have to specify I live in Europe.

I have a lunatic cat and a screaming kid, can I call that weapons against intruders ;)

Besides BB guns I have never touched a gun in my life, nor did I saw one around me.
I think the main thing about Americans and their Guns that many Europeans don't understand is the same thing that a lot of Americans fail to understand about it all as well. Sure, guns are nice to have in a robbery, but that is not why we are granted them as a birthright. We have guns to keep those in power above us in line. Full stop, that simple. If you look at most despots in history, you will start to notice a trend that the people they've abused were never well armed. This unbalance of power invites oppression if left unchecked, we feel, so we keep a nice level baseline of arms out in the wild. The Japaneese shot down all plans of a land invasion of the US during WWII because they envisioned a rifle behind every blade of grass. And whether they say it out loud or not, our politicians understand that those same rifles are prepared for domestic enemies as well as foreign ones. That is the bit that nobody really talks about...

That, plus shooting guns is fun as shit.
 

Bruttle

Space Marshal
Donor
Aug 20, 2016
655
2,498
2,600
RSI Handle
Bruttle
If you knew how horrible things can get and how quick it could happen it might change your views on these things.
I think that's why I am so thorough about the measures I have in place to protect my home and, more importantly, my wife and daughter. I use to be blissfully unaware of these things. I specifically remember thinking how unrealistic the safety precautions were around Anthony Hopkins in silence of the lambs. He's just a little guy. You just punch him in the face and it's over. Then I took a job as a prison guard and I met people like him. Not just one. Not just a few, but hundreds.

That's the point that I realized that monsters were real. Not in the scary, beat you with a baseball bat and cut you up kind of way. But in the wait six months for that one time you aren't paying attention, drug you, skin you, and wear your face as a mask for a week kind of way (not a made up story). These people are so far removed from normal thoughts and morality that they might as well be an entirely different species.

Most of the things these people do are kept out of the media. They are too disturbing to report to the public. So most people have no idea these types of people are even out there. They think that people are mostly harmless. They are naturally good and as long as you stay away from the bad parts of town, you're relatively safe. Most of that is just perception though. The average person doesn't come into contact with more than a few crimes per year.

That leaves the news, but they only report the sensational. You don't hear about each individual one of the 16k+ murders per year. The news only shows a few dramatic ones. You don't hear about the 90,000 people that go missing per year and are never found. You don't hear about the million or so times per year a home invasion was successfully and legally stopped with a firearm (technically between 500k and 3m times according to the CDC). They just don't report on these things. Just like I doubt they reported on the druggie you met, or the inmates that I met.

If I'm being honest though, I don't mind the fact that most people don't know how bad things are. It must be nice. It's definitely cheaper. Plus, odds are they'll be just fine. I have just had different experiences. So sometimes I get out of bed in the middle of the night because I don't specifically remember locking the door and I don't want my girls to be murdered...
 

NaffNaffBobFace

Space Marshal
Donor
Jan 5, 2016
11,753
43,207
3,150
RSI Handle
NaffNaffBobFace
I think the main thing about Americans and their Guns that many Europeans don't understand is the same thing that a lot of Americans fail to understand about it all as well. Sure, guns are nice to have in a robbery, but that is not why we are granted them as a birthright. We have guns to keep those in power above us in line. Full stop, that simple. If you look at most despots in history, you will start to notice a trend that the people they've abused were never well armed. This unbalance of power invites oppression if left unchecked, we feel, so we keep a nice level baseline of arms out in the wild. The Japaneese shot down all plans of a land invasion of the US during WWII because they envisioned a rifle behind every blade of grass. And whether they say it out loud or not, our politicians understand that those same rifles are prepared for domestic enemies as well as foreign ones. That is the bit that nobody really talks about...

That, plus shooting guns is fun as shit.
I know I said I'd bow out of this conversation but this has really caught me - so rising gun ownership in the US, if everyone was getting one for the right reason, should not be taken as them feeling insecure and wanting personal protection, it is a sign that the population feels the current government is overstepping its limits and is preparing for shit to go down...?
 

Bruttle

Space Marshal
Donor
Aug 20, 2016
655
2,498
2,600
RSI Handle
Bruttle
I know I said I'd bow out of this conversation but this has really caught me - so rising gun ownership in the US, if everyone was getting one for the right reason, should not be taken as them feeling insecure and wanting personal protection, it is a sign that the population feels the current government is overstepping its limits and is preparing for shit to go down...?
I don't think it's quite that black and white for the average owner. On an overall scale, yes. It's part of the checks and balances built into the system. I don't think it's much "preparing for shit to go down" though. It's more "we're keeping an eye on you" for most people. In alot of ways it's the fulcrum, the tipping point. If the government actually moves to disarm the population, said shit might actually go down. But that will never happen. It's hard baked into the constitution.

Like I said though. It's not so black and white. It's a very subjective and personal decision to own. So the list of reasons are just as varied as types of people. Sometimes, yes. It's a way for people to regain a sense of security after some bad things have happened to them. Sometimes it's political. Sometimes it's just sport shooting like 3 gun and skeet. Sometimes it's a way to put food on the table. Some people just like to collect them because they are shiny.

For me, my reasons are purely security. It's an acknowledgment of risk and a preparation for that risk. For me, it's like putting on a seatbelt or making sure I always have a coat in the car during the winter. I acknowledge that my home is in a city that has ranked in the top 5 most dangerous in America for quite a few years, according to the FBI. Sometimes we're even number 1. I'm not going to wait the average 45 min for the police to show up (I wish I was joking). I can't rely on law enforcement to protect my family, home or myself with any form of reliability. So I take responsibility for my family's and my own security in the most successful and legal way I can.
 

NaffNaffBobFace

Space Marshal
Donor
Jan 5, 2016
11,753
43,207
3,150
RSI Handle
NaffNaffBobFace
I don't think it's quite that black and white for the average owner. On an overall scale, yes. It's part of the checks and balances built into the system. I don't think it's much "preparing for shit to go down" though. It's more "we're keeping an eye on you" for most people. In alot of ways it's the fulcrum, the tipping point. If the government actually moves to disarm the population, said shit might actually go down. But that will never happen. It's hard baked into the constitution.

Like I said though. It's not so black and white. It's a very subjective and personal decision to own. So the list of reasons are just as varied as types of people. Sometimes, yes. It's a way for people to regain a sense of security after some bad things have happened to them. Sometimes it's political. Sometimes it's just sport shooting like 3 gun and skeet. Sometimes it's a way to put food on the table. Some people just like to collect them because they are shiny.

For me, my reasons are purely security. It's an acknowledgment of risk and a preparation for that risk. For me, it's like putting on a seatbelt or making sure I always have a coat in the car during the winter. I acknowledge that my home is in a city that has ranked in the top 5 most dangerous in America for quite a few years, according to the FBI. Sometimes we're even number 1. I'm not going to wait the average 45 min for the police to show up (I wish I was joking). I can't rely on law enforcement to protect my family, home or myself with any form of reliability. So I take responsibility for my family's and my own security in the most successful and legal way I can.
Thanks, yeah that makes sense. Nothing, is ever totally one way and the list of reasons to obtain a firearm must be as veried as recreational sport-target use to defense from large dangerous animals in some of the more remote parts of the country. Still, very interesting that it is indeed true the second amendment is the thing that allows and is always quoted when speaking about ownership/regulated ownership to ranged weapons.

Before I duck back out of the thread (as i am aware my talking about this is totally off topic) just one last question: I assume the constitution and amendments are taught to US school kids before they get to the age of being able to own a firearm... is that correct? I'm just trying to work out if everyone who gets a gun knows that is why they are allowed to so, even if that is not their personal reason for doing so, and is somewhere in the back of their minds.
 

Richard Bong

Space Marshal
Jul 29, 2017
2,180
5,941
2,850
RSI Handle
McHale
No offense meant (don't want to debate) but I am always amazed at why people would need guns at home. I have to specify I live in Europe.

I have a lunatic cat and a screaming kid, can I call that weapons against intruders ;)

Besides BB guns I have never touched a gun in my life, nor did I saw one around me.
It is not really a question of need.

Let me point out that I learned basic firearms safety at around 5. I learned to shoot at 7. My father brought home venison most years during hunting season. I also served 9 years active Duty US Army.

Yes, the basic intent of the Second Ammendment is self defense, especially against a tyrannical government or invader, but there is so much more to it than that.

Shooting is a sport, in fact, at last count, there are 17 Olympic shooting events. Like football (both American Football and what we Yanks call Soccer,), Basketball, Skiing, etc. It is fun, challenging and satisfying to hone one's skills. Shooting itself is just fun.
 

Shadow Reaper

Space Marshal
Jun 3, 2016
4,761
13,889
2,850
RSI Handle
Shadow Reaper
I know I said I'd bow out of this conversation but this has really caught me - so rising gun ownership in the US, if everyone was getting one for the right reason, should not be taken as them feeling insecure and wanting personal protection, it is a sign that the population feels the current government is overstepping its limits and is preparing for shit to go down...?
Though we have the reassurance of our right to self protection as result of the very suspicious nature of the Founders, I don't think people are buying guns in record numbers because they're seriously considering overthrowing the government. Rather, they feel life is too uncertain. Riots, burning, looting, even killing all on the rise and especially the democratic cities not only doing nothing, but talking about defunding the police. Who wouldn't go buy a shotgun?

Look at South Africa, and the incredible state backed violence there. It could happen here. Unless someone takes real steps it will only get worse, and if you live in a neighborhood like the one in east Portland (I lived just down the street from that police station for years), and you see criminal elements running wild in the streets, and the police restrained from doing their job by a nutcase mayor, then you're gonna go buy a gun.

The other point remains, however. Across human history when draconian forces manipulate themselves into control, the very first thing they ALWAYS seem to do is disarm the masses. You can see this throughout human history. When people lose confidence that the peace officers can keep the peace, they take the safety of their families more personally.
 
Last edited:

Thugari

Space Marshal
Mar 11, 2016
1,300
4,432
2,600
RSI Handle
Thugari
a shotgun is great for home defense. good choice there. as for me, i will stick with my witness 45 acp. I use ranger t ammunition, a double tap with that and i dont care how close the ambulance is. a center mass shot will cause a bleedout. one shot does a 3 inch by 10 inch wound cavity in a pork shoulder.
 
Forgot your password?